Bunny's Reviews: Stargun Messenger Review Spotlight

Welcome to the book tour for Stargun Messenger! Ready to go and play in the stars? Read on for more details concerning this engaging new space opera novel!

Stargun Messenger is one of those books where you read the first few lines of the novel and the author has accomplished the rare feat - capturing your attention immediately. LOL!

When the main character starts the story off by saying/thinking "Sometimes, I wake up and forget I'm not human" understand...you have my full and undivided attention. My interest was immediately piqued and I'm sure that yours just was as well. Curious for more? Well, just hang on because this book is packed with elements that are going to pull you to the edge of your seat.

Idari starts the story off on a mission in her capacity as a Stargun Messenger. She's collecting filamentium canisters that were stolen by a small group of thieves. She's not prepared for the unexpected "push-back" that she gets though and that almost costs her more than she's prepared to pay.

Don't worry! Things get better...before the real chaos and drama ensues that is what will really pique your interest concerning this book. Idari has problems, I mean, really who doesn't. Right? Well, when Idari meets Gen Emera she sees stars. Quite literally. LOL! Because Emera is one. But that's when Idari's whole world gets turned upside down. That tends to happen when truth makes a surprise appearance. Now? She has to make a hell of a choice. Do the right thing? Or stay true to her employers. Choices have consequences and this one is no different.

Brace yourself for a page-turner of a novel. Idari is one engaging character that really intrigued me from the beginning and I know that she'll intrigue you as well. That first line comes into play multiple times in this story. Do you get some backstory behind that statement? You betcha! That's something that we readers always love and that's some delicious backstory that gives you more insight into the character and who they are.

A question I'm sure you're thinking - is Idari alone? No. She has help from another, but while part of me wants to declare this is another "character" per se, I think it'd be a reach to say that they are their own separate "person." This entity/character adds a nice amount of color and depth to this story as they always help Idari out in the situations that she finds herself in.

This book has a lot going on for it that will absolutely delight and engage science fiction lovers. Even better news?! There's going to be more of Idari!!!! My hair stood on end out of excitement people! I can't wait and I know that when you get to the end of this book you will absolutely feel the same way.

4.5 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to the author, Darby Harn, and Escapist Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this book! I look forward to what comes next!

Book Information:

Stargun Messenger by Darby Harn
Series: Stargun Messenger
Genre: Space Opera
Intended Age Group: Adult
Pages: 368
Published: December 6, 2022
Publisher: Fair Play Books (Self Published)

Content/Trigger Warnings:

Shown on Page (things clearly told to the reader):

Alcohol abuse

Alluded to (things only mentioned in passing or hinted at):

Transphobia (villains are not nice)

Book Blurb:

To save the stars, Astra Idari must outrun her own shadow.

Astra Idari is a mess.

She drinks too much, remembers too little, and barely pays for it all as a Stargun Messenger. She hunts down thieves who steal filamentium, the fuel that allows for faster-than-light travel. When Idari meets Gen Emera, she meets the girl of her dreams and the last living star. There’s just one problem.

Filamentium is only found in the blood of living stars.

Everyone wields knives and justifications for butchering the living stars to get around, but once Idari knows the truth, she faces a stark choice. Either she turns Emera over to her employers who control the filamentium monopoly, or risks everything to help Emera fulfill her quest to save her people.

The choice should be simple, but it’s not losing her life that terrifies Idari. It’s finally living. Idari knows she’s human despite outwardly appearing to be an android with a failing memory stitched together by her ship's irascible AI, CR-UX. She’s been just getting by for longer than she remembers, assured in her humanity, but not enough to risk it.

Idari has lived her entire life in darkness. The dark comforts and shields. The dark preserves in its cold, and Idari may not be able to keep her star out of her shadow.

“If James Joyce had grown up reading X-Men comics and obsessively playing Destiny, he would have written this. A breathtakingly imaginative, star-spanning romp that is equal parts swashbuckling galactic adventure and lyrical introspection about love and identity.”

- Wayne Santos, author of The Chimera Code

See Also:

(This is our attempt at a bit of fun. We ask our authors to come up with a few short, clever, possibly pop culture laden, descriptions of their books just to give a little taste of what’s to come for readers.)

I Forgor • I Want to Break Free • Rebel Rebel

Book Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BWWV1NTK

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/75434518-stargun-messenger

Author Bio & Information:

Darby Harn is the author of the SPSFC quarterfinalist Ever The Hero, which Publisher's Weekly called "an entertaining debut that uses superpowers as a metaphor to delve into class politics in an alternate America." His short fiction appears in Strange Horizons, Interzone, and other venues. Visit www.darbyharn.com for more.

Website: http://www.darbyharn.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/DarbyHarn

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